sara's Shiny red blog

Freelancing means freedom. The freedom to build your business the way you want, the freedom to pursue the work that interests you, and the freedom to fill your calendar with experiences you find worthwhile and fulfilling. Which is why I spent last week in Austin, Texas, at the Freelance Conference.

I am so glad I went to this conference, and I definitely want to go to others like it. (Please share any suggestions you have!) Here are just a handful of the reasons I loved it:

​Fellow freelancers. Everyone at this conference was a freelancer, so we had a lot in common. It felt like we all hit it off quite quickly and easily.

Superheroes. I have to give a huge, reverential, and deeply grateful shout-out to the woman who made this conference possible: Emily Leach. Somehow, she managed to make this conference free for attendees—and also extremely valuable: the highest possible ROI.

I'd also like to acknowledge one of the conference attendees/presenters who has worked tirelessly for the good of the freelance community: Billy Park. He created the group We the Freelancers to end the exploitation of freelancers by corporations like 99Designs, Thumbtack, and Upwork that ask freelancers to work "on spec"—in other words, without compensation. You can visit the We the Freelancers site here, but you'll need to become a member to get in. (This is where Billy would entreat you to join! Join! It's free! It's for the common good!)

Ignite. Have you ever heard of Ignite events? Presenters are given exactly five minutes to speak. They prepare 20 slides, which advance automatically every 15 seconds. The result is a very fast-paced, high-energy talk. I decided to speak about eggcorns, and I had a blast. We'll hope this tweet by Julie T. Ewald was honest, and that it went well.

​Austin. This is my favorite part of Texas—funky, flavorful, and fun.

I made this on the plane to Austin to practice Adobe Illustrator.

Seen on South Congress.

Neato know-how. Ohmygosh, where to begin with the knowledge I gained? I learned about all kinds of great apps like UNUM, Smarthash, LastPass, and Appear.in. Some, like Evernote and Zapier, I'd known about, but now I'm fired up about their functionality. I also got ideas about using social media, finding new business, gaining efficiency, and more.

The chance to travel! I absolutely love going new places. And it's dawning on me that freelancing can afford me this opportunity. This trip really whetted my appetite, and a presentation at the conference by Alicia White called "Speak to Grow Your Business" is fueling a fantasy of mine to start speaking at various events.

​So stay tuned, and we'll see where the freelance life takes me next!

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